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President’s Proposed Budget Blocks Horse Slaughter

Great news! Federal money for inspecting horse slaughter plants in the United States could soon be off the table, which would prevent the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the U.S. President Obama’s newly released FY 2014 budget proposal includes a request for Congress to block spending by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to inspect U.S. horse slaughter plants.

In 2005, a similar spending prohibition was passed by landslide, bipartisan votes in the House and Senate, shutting down horse slaughter operations in the U.S. However, it was not renewed in 2011, which created the potential for horse slaughter plants to reopen—at the expense of American taxpayers. Horse slaughter proponents wasted no time scouting locations: at least six applications to slaughter horses for human consumption have already been filed with the USDA.

“We are grateful to the White House and USDA for their leadership in ensuring that American horses are not slaughtered on our own soil for foreign demand, especially in light of the daily news from Europe about the horrors of discovering horse meat mixed with frozen lasagna and toxic chemicals in horse flesh sold for food,” says Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Government Relations. “Wasting tax dollars on cruel and dangerous practices makes no sense, and we urge Congress to adopt this budget cut.”

Help us ensure that Capitol Hill hears the message to protect our horses, both here and abroad! The pro-slaughter industry will lobby intensely against this newest effort to prohibit federal dollars from being spent on horse slaughter, and our goal is to stop all American horses from experiencing the horrors of slaughter wherever it occurs, so we must continue to support the SAFE Act.